It is known to use electronic camera based technology for medical screening programmes, medical diagnosis and monitoring disease progression. For example apparatus comprising a retina camera and image acquisition circuitry is used in fundus photography by medical clinicians to acquire images of the interior surface of the eye. The acquired images are normally analysed later by a specialist to detect and evaluate symptoms of eye disease such as glaucoma.
In the developing world clinicians are making increasing use of telemedicine on account of the remoteness of the locations in which they practice and the need to move from location to location during the course of their work. The capability of known electronic camera based technology to provide transmissible images makes such technology appropriate for telemedicine applications. However electronic camera based medical apparatus and in particular apparatus for fundus photography is generally large and heavy and therefore unsuited to other than static operation. Such electronic camera based medical apparatus is normally difficult to move from location to location on account of its size and weight and is often not readily brought into operation after movement.
The present invention has been devised in the light of an appreciation of the above mentioned problems. It is therefore an object for the present invention to provide portable image acquisition apparatus which is configured for medical use and more particularly which is configured to acquire at least one image of a part of a human or animal body. It is a further object for the present invention to provide an improved method of acquiring at least one image of a part of a human or animal body.